Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation’s press.

STAGE

Best of British Stage: A revival of “King Lear” won two key honors and German singer Ute Lemper was named best musical actress Monday at the Olivier Awards, London’s equivalent of the Tony. The National Theater’s “King Lear” won best director and best actor honors for Richard Eyre and Ian Holm, respectively. Lemper was honored for her turn in “Chicago,” the hit American musical revival that has been selling out in London. The award for best play went to Patrick Marber’s “Closer,” a bleak work about two intersecting relationships that’s expected to open on Broadway next fall. “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” was named best new musical. And best actress in a play nominee Judi Dench (who’s also an Academy Award nominee for “Mrs. Brown”) lost out to Zoe Wanamaker for “Electra.”

MOVIES

Bugs on Tour: Warner Bros. is marking its 75th anniversary with “The Bugs Bunny Film Festival,” an 80-city North American tour that opened over the weekend in the Canadian city of Edmonton, Alberta. Thirty classic Warner Bros. cartoons--featuring such characters as Bugs, Elmer Fudd, Wylie E. Coyote, Road Runner, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig--have been divided into two programs, which Warner Bros. says “pay tribute to our rich animation heritage in theaters, where most of these animated shorts were originally shown.” Also included in the festival is “Another Froggy Evening,” a new short from legendary animator Chuck Jones, starring the characters Michigan J. Frog and Marvin the Martian. Stay tuned for Los Angeles screening dates, expected to be sometime this spring.

Another Seagal: Steven Seagal’s 21-year-old son, Tommy Hilfiger model Kentaro Seagal, appears on his way to following in his father’s footsteps as an action star. The younger Seagal has signed a five-picture, seven-figure deal with First Miracle Films, a new company headed by Menachem Golan and Yoram Globus. Golan and Globus’ former company, Cannon Films, launched the career of another action star: Jean-Claude Van Damme.

TV & RADIO

Remembering Sonny: Cher will pay tribute to her late ex-husband and singing partner, Sonny Bono, by hosting a May CBS special on the duo’s career and lives together. Meanwhile, in a separate memorial tribute, the Hollywood Wax Museum has put back on display its 1970 figures of Sonny and Cher, complete with the original Bob Mackie costumes the duo wore on their CBS series. And for those who want to revisit the former couple’s music, MCA Records will release “Cher and Sonny & Cher--Greatest Hits,” a 16-song CD with selections including the signature “I Got You Babe,” on March 24.

Animated Fare: Two new movie-based series from MGM animation will premiere in September. “Robocop: Alpha Commando,” which will be seen on KCAL-TV Channel 9, is based on the hit action film “RoboCop” and features an animated cyborg superhero. “The Lionhearts,” scheduled to air on KTLA-TV Channel 5, will follow the exploits of Leo the Lion, an animated version of MGM’s familiar mascot.

Calling All ‘Citybilly’s’: Rene Engel’s “Citybilly,” a popular music program that originated 17 years ago at KCRW-FM (89.9) and was later heard on KPCC-FM (89.3), will return to the airwaves on Feb. 22, airing Sunday nights from 5 to 7 on KCSN-FM (88.5). The program, which had been off the air for two years, includes interviews with musicians in the country, folk and roots music scenes. Engel is now general manager of KCSN.

POP/ROCK

Jackson’s Project: Michael Jackson is planning an Oct. 10 fund-raising concert in Seoul that’s tentatively being called “We Are the World 2.” Planned as a benefit for starving North Korean children, the concert at Olympic Stadium is expected to be broadcast live in 120 countries, an aide to South Korean President-elect Kim Dae-jung said Monday. In addition to Jackson, several top-name performers are expected perform.

QUICK TAKES

The Beastie Boys and Salt-N-Pepa will receive Rock the Vote’s annual Patrick Lippert Awards, honoring recording artists who have “made a significant contribution to our common future through extraordinary achievements in empowering people,” on Feb. 24 in New York. Previous honorees include R.E.M., Pearl Jam and Queen Latifah. . . . Madonna, whose new album, “Ray of Light,” is due March 3, returned to the concert stage for the first time in four years when she gave a Valentine’s Day performance at New York’s Roxy dance club, the same venue where she began her career 14 years ago. . . . Danica McKellar, who played Winnie Cooper, the girlfriend of Fred Savage’s “Wonder Years” character Kevin Arnold, from 1988-93, will reunite with Savage when she guests as a love interest on his current NBC series, “Working.” The episode will air in March. . . . Best director nominee Gus Van Sant (“Good Will Hunting”) has just wrapped a four-day shoot on “Weird,” a new music video for the teen group Hanson.